‘The Wikipedia of anything . . . baseball related’ has sold his memorabilia shop

The first time Joe Ruocco retired, he was still a relatively young man. That was almost 20 years ago when he left teaching after 31 years.

Now, the Bronx native, who moved to Kansas to go to college in Dodge City, is 74. He’s decided he needs to actually retire, so he’s sold his popular Rock’s Dugout sports memorabilia shop.

“It was very hard my first week in retirement,” Ruocco said. “I was going to the shop a lot, visiting, helping where I could.”

New owner and longtime customer Rob Guelfi said Ruocco is always welcome, especially since he’s so helpful.

“He’s the Wikipedia of anything in that store or anything baseball related.”

Ruocco said he and his wife, Cathy, opened the shop in 1977 at the Rose Bowl East. It’s now at Northrock Lanes on North Rock Road.

“We’re still running card shows at Northrock Lanes,” Ruocco said. However, he said he’s “not able to keep up with the shop like I wanted to.”

He sold the entire contents to Guelfi.

Ruocco has had the stuff of collectors’ dreams through the years, including individual items such as Mickey Mantle rookie cards and baseballs signed by Babe Ruth along with whole collections.

Once, a man brought in three baseballs that he’d bought in a brown bag at a garage sale.

“The guy . . . paid $3 for the bag, brings it back to me, wants to know if these could be real,” Ruocco said.

One was “the most beautiful signed baseball of Ruth I’ve ever seen,” he said. “I got it authenticated to make sure it was real.”

He bought it from the elated man for $25,000 and then sold it at national auction for $30,590, though Ruocco wishes he’d kept it.

“Of course.”

He said it likely would bring $100,000 now due to its condition and how much the value of autographs has escalated.

Another time, a woman came into the shop with her ex-husband’s card collection, which she wanted to sell to pay for a new washer. As Ruocco was looking through the cards, he said, “Sandwiched between the cards was $350 of cash that the guy had hidden.”

The customer walked out with the cash and cards.

Ruocco said he’s going to miss seeing customers, who became his friends through the years, and what they bring in.

Guelfi previously owned an online sports memorabilia business and is going to take Rock’s Dugout online in addition to keeping the storefront.

“We’re going to start getting a much broader spectrum of customers and branding . . . so he’s not just limited to this Wichita market anymore.”

Guelfi plans other updates at the store. He said his goal is “keeping its authenticity as it is but just modernizing it a bit.”

That includes opening up more floor space to create “a more hang-out environment than it is now.”

Guelfi said he hopes Ruocco keeps hanging out, too.

“He’s an attraction himself.”